To be worried by number of former keepers?

[Getoverit1965]

Just put down a deposit on a 20 plate car but I have since found out it has 3 previous keepers and a plate change. The plate change doesn't worry me, it appears to have been registered with a private plate by the first owner. First owner had it a year, second only about 8 months and the third over 2 years. I'm just a bit worried about the car being unreliable. I've had my current car over 10 years so it's been a long time since I bought a car. I do notice that cars generally seem to have more owners than before but this seems like a lot. Would it concern you?

What is it?

I've sold cars for years. Feed me details...

It's a Kia XCeed.

Kia do have a 7 year warranty so I suppose at least there is that to cover anything major but I really would like something reliable as I have a disabled child.

Id spend my own money on a KIA, and I'd recommend one to my Mother (I think they're brilliant) - and no, I don't work for KIA.

The 7yr warranty will be valid as long as it has been serviced to the manufacturer's specifications at the appropriate intervals. Please ensure you check this carefully.
I have spoken to Kia UK previously on this and they are quite strict.

Are you sure this car wasn't a Pre-Reg?
Quite often the supplying dealer is the 'first owner', but just because they register the car and are listed as the first owner, it is delivered 'as new' with only delivery mileage on. The 'second owner' is actually the first real owner and if they transferred to a private plate......

See what, if anything it failed the MOT on online. If it’s 2020 it should have had one.

Run a V check on it for a fiver. It'll tell you if it's ever been through a salvage yard as an unrecorded accident and is well worth it for peace of mind. HPI checks most garages do don't look at salvage history. They just tell you if its ever been written off but thats not the same.

3 owners probably isnt all that unusual but I'd still prefer a 1 owner, fully stamped history at the same garage one.

I will ask the garage about the service history. It's a national chain garage and they did say I would get the balance of the manufacturers warranty so assumed it would have fsh but didn't actually check! I've paid a small deposit but I don't think that commits me to buy as nothing signed.

Defo not a pre-reg as first registration was with a different numberplate, it changed on 1st sale so assuming someone had it reg with their private plate and had it taken off at 1st sale, could maybe have been a company vehicle.

As above OP, I urge you to do a V Check on the car to make sure it's not been smashed up without being classified. Its unlikely but for the sake of a few quid it's well worth doing. Garages HPI checks and Autotraders dont tell you this.

Or maybe youve done one already as you know about plate changes etc

As a matter of interest OP, as your child is disabled, could you not apply for a Motability car?

I've done a vehicle check. The write off and salvage histories are both clear. The only alert is the plate change, which looks legit but I will question it anyway.

He's only on low rate mobility but should be on high as he meets all the criteria but our award was during COVID and I didn't have the energy to fight it. I could do a change of circumstances but it is taking up to a year here (Scotland) and we need a new car sharpish. I've kept this one longer than I should have because I've been quite attached to it but it's too small and it's starting to cost too much in repairs.

In that case I'd maybe consider buying a different car, with a better history, and get going on getting his benefit changed to the higher rate. This way, if you then sell on after a year, no one is as likely to question the history of the car you sell. Whereas if you go ahead and purchase the one that you are currently interested in, and whose history you are concerned about, you won't be setting yourself up for problems when you try to sell it after a year. Hope that makes sense? Once you've got your son's benefit sorted, just contact Motability and get cracking on ordering a good RELIABLE car, which those of us with mobility problems really DO need.

@Moonlamp not wishing to derail but if it's helpful for OP and others, could I ask which model kia you recommend? I'm in the market for a very small SUV type.

Very small SUV Kia is the Stonic. The Hyundai Kona is practically the same car. They do a decent little 1.0 petrol unit in it.

I clicked on this thinking it was about Quidditch.

I originally thought it was to do with someones sexual history!

My DSs car has 3 keepers but in effect it's only had one. Car was bought new but pre-registered and with 200 miles on the clock. Put in ex DHs name at the time as technically shared by 2 DSs. Ownership passed into my name when we split. In practice it's really only been driven by younger son with very occasional use by me and elder son. Elder son and I share "my" car as we drive less and live in the same house.

Xceed is a great car. I bought mine in 2022. Great drive. I'm on the Kia Owners forum and no talk of reliability issues. Only issue is sometimes can be slow to pull away but there is a tweak to sort that. I really enjoy driving mine and find it quite nippy. What Xceed is it?

Just check that the service book is fully up to date, as Kia don't keep a central record.

7 year warranty goes with the car so as long as service history up to date then all ok.

It's a 1.0T GDi ISG 2. Decent spec for an entry level model. I did find it a bit slow to pull away but I'm not fast driver nowadays anyway. It was great when up to speed though. Gearbox is a bit notchy but I find that with almost every car nowadays. Big plus is that I can fit my son's wheelchair in the boot laying flat. I have a tiny i10 just now and I can barely get it in standing up and it impedes the view out of the back window. It's not very practical for going anywhere when I can get the wheelchair in to boot and absolutely nothing else.

Do you have the names of the previous owners? Can you google them?